Automatic spring machine



Oct- 6, 1925.

W. H. BLEU'EL AUTOMATIC SPRING MACHINE Filed Sept; 23. 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet l I uv TOR arm W Oct. 6, 1925.

W. H. BLEUEL AUTOMATIC SPRING MACHINE Filed Sept. 23, 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 W. H. BLEUEL AUTOIATIC- SPRING MACHINE Oct. 6, 1925.

Filed Sept. 23. 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Oct. 6, 1925 W. H. BLEUEL AUTOMATIC SPRING momma Filed Sept. 23, 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Oct. 6, 1925. 1,556,405

w. H. BLEUEL 'AUTOMATIC SPRING MACHINE Filed Sept. 25, 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Oct. 6 1925; 1,556,405

W. H. BLEUEL AUTOMATIC SPRING MACHINE Filed Sept. 23. 1922 6 Sheets-Shea 6 WITNESS Patented Oct. 6, 1925.

, UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. BLEUEL, OF BITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTQMAYIIQ srnING MACHINE.

Application filed September 23,1922. Serial No. 589,989.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it'known that I, WILLIAM BLnUnL, a citizen of the United States, and residing" in the city of Pittsburgh, in the county of rrllegheny and St'ate'of'Pennsylvania, have, invented, or discovered the new, useful, and lin'proved Automatic Spring Machine, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists in certain, new and useful in'iproveinents in "automatic spring machines. i

More particularly my invention is characterized, inter alia', bythe following novel and advantageous features.

show a novel combination of structural elements and operative parts which coact to form a simplified and greatly improved machine which is readily adjustable to form spring, from wire or rods of any diameter and cross section, and spreadof spirals, and either of cylindrical, tapered or partially cylindrical and partially tapered'form.

I show a new and improved chain feed for the material from which the springs are formed.

show a new and improved adjustable forming means whereby the diameter and character of the spring is determined,

1 show new and improved means for severing the formed spring, said means. be-

ing operated by, stored power instead o fdirectly f1 0111 a power-driven element of the.

Many other novel features of construesj tion and arrangement of'parts will appear from the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, which are,

however 'inerel I intended to illustrate the. l v 7 o I l a 7 principles of my invention without llm tlng the scope of the latter to the construction shown, Figurel is a broken front elevation. of an automatic spring machine embody ng.

said principles; Fig. 2 is aside view. of the same, showing the wlre feed, the spring,

forming and the spring cutting means, the

latter being shown 1H its inoperative posi tron; F1 3 1s a View of the o oslte s de of the machine; Fig. 4 1s a broken section of the machine taken right angles to. Figs 2 and 3; Fig. 5 is av detail of the guide through which the material is fed "to the forming means; Fig. 6. is a section taken along the line YI-VI in Fig. 5; 7' is a; detail showing the cam and roller mecha-, nism which operatesthe spreader; Fig. 8 is a detail View showing the mechanism usedltol move the former in tapering a spring while, the same is being wound around the mandrel; Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail showing the adjustment of the former, and Fig.10is' 1a nother View of'thesame, taken atright angles to Fig. 9,; Figs. 11, 12', and 13 are details showing the blocks which make up the chain feed. Fig. 14 is a top planview of. the

.cutter head and the cutter mounted thereon Fig. 15 is a side View of the same, showing the cutter in its cutting position, the, spreader being also shown; Fig. 16 is an enlarged: detail in section showing the control of the spreader and'former; and Fig. 17 is a detail View showing the upper chain support, ingplate in end elevation, the chain being omitted. v I i The following. is a detailed description of the drawings:

The frame. of the machine is formed by the side plates A. and. B supported on legs 1 and rigidly connected in. spaced. relation by the spreaders 2.

3 and 4- represent. thevariable speed drive. shafts provided with the, usual pulley. 5 and gears 6, the-shaft l being journaledi inthe bearing boxes 7 eccentrically mounted in suitable bearings 8 in the upper. portions of the side plates A and B.

9 is the power delivery gear. on the shaft. 4.

I will first describe the means. for feeding.

which is rotatably mounted. the,v gear 11:. which meshes with the gear 9', and also meshed from above with the. horizontally;

alined gears 12 and- 13 keyed, respectively,

on the shafts 14:. and 15 which arejournaled; in suitable roller. hearings in the side plates;

A and B. 16 and 17 are a pair of hori zontally alined'shafts, one verticallyalined with each of the shafts 14 and 15, and

journaled in suitable bearings intheplates- A and B. 18 and 19are gears keyed, re-

spectively, on the shafts 16 and 17 and in,

meshwith the gears 12 and 13, respectively,

ill

iii)

whereby the shafts l6 and l? are driven in the opposite direction to shafts 14 and 15.

Boiler bearings mounted in suitable boxes are preferably provided for the shafts.

Said shafts protrude through the side plate A and have keyed on their protruding ends pairs of spaced-apart sprockets. Thus the shaft 141- is provided with the sprockets 21; the shaft 15 with the sprockets 22; the shaft 16 with sprockets 23, and the shaft 1? with the sprockets 24.

is a horizontally disposed chain supporting plate having its enus provided with vertically slotted holes 23 by means of wine it may be mounted on the shaft-s M and 7 between the members of the pairs of sprockets, said plate being capable of vertical movement relative to the shafts owing to the slotted nature of said holes 26. Similarly the plate 2'? is mounted on the shafts 16 and 17. The plate 25 is provided with a rearwardly extending bracket 29 which bears against the side plate A and is provided with a pair of downwardly extending sockets 30 to receive the lower ends of the adjustment bolts 31 screwed down through threaded holes in the bracket 32 extending from the side plate A. Similarly the plate 27 is provided with a rearwardly extending bracket having upwardly extending sockets to receive the ends of the adjustment bolts 33 screwed up through threaded holes in the bracket 34 extending from the side plate A. It is evident that by means the adjustment bolts the plates 25 and 27 may be moved toward or away from each other. The plates may be clamped in any adjusted position by means of screws 35 exte l' through vertically slotted holes h intermediate portions of said plates, a screwed into threaded holes in the side plate A.

The four sprockets 2121 and 2229. carry the upper chain, while the four sprockets 2323 and 2 l2l carry the lower chain, the upper sprockets moving clockwise and the lower sprockets counterclockwise in Fig. 2. j

The chains are each composed of a series of blocks 37 pivotally connected together at their ends by pivot pins which are enp ed by the teeth of the sprockets. Thus on of each block is provided with a pair o i allel, spaced apart and pierced cars 3&1 wh the opposite end pro fded with a cezi pierced ear 38" which inserted between the ears 38 on the end of the adj; "ent block and pivot pin 39 inserted through the same. 40 represents rollers mounted on said pins on eith' 1' side of the blocks. which rollersv are engaged by the teeth of the sprocu, drive the chains. The outer ends of the pins are connected by links d1, and 42 are caps screwed onto the ends of the pins to keep the same in position. The imetcrs of the plates 25 and 27 conform to the path of travel of the chains and are provided with a continuous groove, preferably rectangular in which are mounted the roller bearings 43, against which bearings the butts of the blocks bear, thus keeping the blocks in proper alinement during their travel. The outer face of each block is provided with a plurality of projecting teeth a l which are in staggered relation to each other on either side of the medial line of said block and are provided with curved wire engaging faces. Thus the teeth of the blocks of the lower flight of the upper chain inter-lace with the teeth of the blocks of the upperfiight of the iower chain, thereby gripping between them the wire or rod which is being fed forward to the forming and cutting mechanism.

By adjusting the plates 25 and toward or away from each other the grip may be regulated to properly fit the diameter of wire or rod to be fed, and the roller support of the chain blocks renders the grip of the chains on the material continuous for the full length of the feed. The feeding mechanism therefore provides a positive and uniform feed which does not require so tight a grip on the material, as to crush or distort the cross section of the same. I may therefore use wire or rod of any desired cross sectional shape in my machine without danger of crushing or distorting the same.

I provide suitable means for directing the wire or rod between the chains, and the same is shown as of the following construction.

45 is a guide block provided with a diametric passage 4C6 for the wire or rod. The guide block is supported in place by the insertion of its shank in a socket hole in the plate A.

The material is fed forward from the chain feeding mechanism through an adjustable guide of the following construction. 51 represents a pair of blocks fitting to gether longitudinally and one of said blocks being provided on its inner face with a groove of proper size to admit the rod or wire. Said blocks are seated between the upper and lower horizontal flanges 52 of a holder 53 which is pivotaily mounted on the sideplate A, as by means of a bolt 54 so positioned that the axis of pivotal swing of the blocks 51 is alined with the axis of the chain feed. The blocks are held in place by means of the face plate 55 having slotted ends by means of which it is clamped to the face plate A, by tightening the bolts 56. 57 is a set screw extending through a threaded hole in the face plate and impinging against the front block 51, thereby holding the blocks rigidly in the holder. The guide is held down in its desired position by means of a limit screw 58 depending through a threaded hole in a projection 59 on the sideplate A.

want

'60 i the mandrel about, whieh the w lie.

or other material "is wound to form the p ng clai fmandrel is Qt. miwit uler form, the underside being (g e ay, "an s prev 'ded h a squ:, e, l;siia" k by. mews of which is mountedin s ta-ble socket l v 'y' moun e i i a. seat on new;

tical face of. a'hqlderhloefk 63, a bolted- Qnvedse p t 6& be ng used te emesiid: tool into engagement)- with uncle t flange .5 on the hold r. 6 l s dep ing set, screw carri 'elby impinging against "the Lipperl end of the tool for the purpose of the osition of the tool in relation'td the holderl' h der 3 r id y meunte n the projecting end ofa' shaft. GT J OUIT -lalQId in the sideplatesifi; and Inside the plate It said shaft is p i oyided with a rigidly attached radial arm ,8 who e outer end i provided with a threaded/split socket 69 in which is screwed, the eWshaft-YQ provided at its upper end with the: hand Wheel 71. 72 isth'e bolt iisedto ela np said sock ets about said screw to'h'old latter St tionary relaltiye tof'the socket; The; lower end of said screws impinges 'aga insta stop block'73 extendi g 2, 1 t e in r-fa of plate A. Thus by'means of'the serew 7,0 the former may be moved toward: or away ro the m rel, th s; adi st lls th iameter of thesprings formed.

The shaft 67 is madeextensible S0. that the former may be moved into proper .position to engage and bend thewi're; Thus the left end of: the shaft'6g7 is provided with a threaded po tionwhich extends thro 'gh the orifice of a supportingv 'platefi l spaced inwardly from the side/plate B and I on either side of said supporting, plate are flCljLlStlTlf-Qllt nuts 75, by means of which the shaft 67 may be shifted lo igitudin ally. The end. of the shaft 67 is reduced-sand occupies a bearing 76 inthe plate VVhere cylindrical or constant diameter s arings are to be made, the-former islfirst adjusted to proper position andthen re mains untouched until the job is finished. lVhere, on the contrary, .tapered-,s'prings are to be made provisionimust be made vfor varying the position of the former relative to the mandrel during the operation of coils inogthe '1 v f For this purpose I show provided. a radi-, a1 arm 77 fixed on the shaft 67'and pr0- vided at its end with a roller 78 which impinges on .the perimeterv ofa earn 7 9 mounted on a driven shaft 80 joi rnaledinthe the illdlderf aiiid.

side plates A and B. It is evident that m1 ll'ewihe" he plel' mfiiml eme f the cam 7 9, the rdller will the shaft 67 t tu n, heirsb 'm i ei h i' ward or away from th mandrel, in ac-- cordance with'thecontour ofthe cam, and thus progressively increasing or redueing the diaml-terof the spring and" thereby ob: a n ng' th esirsdtep r a V I wfll iiextf les ci ibe the spreader by means of which the snt gness of the coils"? is dei m negd t t be spr ad ool's; tempted/ n =1! se t 82 n eh d i' bleek i means. set Screws and extendin u b ne th th m n h holder 83 is rigidly "inounte'chon the proends o'f th' parallel" rods, 85 and 86 which are slid-ably-inohnted in; bearings in the side. plates and so as to move longitudinally to im art' the necessary spreadingmovement to the tool 81. 87 is er consists of a bevelled edge an rigidly seemed to the saidi rods and having on its outer end a roller'88 adapted to contact with the siirface of a cam mounted 'on the driven shaft 80, For convenience I prefer tonse theface of the eam '79 above referred to, 'giving"the right hand/face of said eamthe-irregular surface nec'ess ary to produce the. desired movement of the spreader. If' desired the two cam functions may be performed by two separate cams mounted on the shaft 67, butI "prefei' to combine these 'fnnetions in the same can usingl hothth e perimet-raland facial sarifaces of saidfcam for these purposes;

It evident that whet cylindrical springs are to be formed the perimetral eonto ir offlthe cam 79 perfect 'cle'. a

The cam 79"may be clamped against a shotilder 89 on the. shaftfSO'by means of. a sleeve nut 90 engaging a threaded portion of said shaft. There the cam 79 is se m ly mor he-sp de the e may be cut away for a portion of its circumference, as shown in Fig 7 so that it can be readily slipped laterally into 'position on the shaft andclamp'ed place.

The roller 88 is held in continuous contact with the face of cam 76 by means of a screw 91 mounted on a collar 92 slidably mounted on the rod 86 and forced away fromfthe plate A by means of a helical Spr ng 93 co about eidlr i he m emen of e re 85am 6H! rd h'e. le in Fig.1 4 may b ediestsdl i m ns f h e -rise. le ve in i h thefendiof the rod is journaled, said sleeve being screwed into a threaded hole n the pla e 13; hile 95, awt la pi e 4 may be obtained on the rods 85 and 86 I will next describe the mechanism for cutting off the completed spring.

96 is the cutting tool provided with a sharp edge and clamped as by set screw 97 in the seat 98 of the plate 99 which is pivotally mounted as by the pivot pin 100 on the top surface of the head 101. The tool 96 is held down in its seat by the small plate 99 bolted to the plate 99. A cotter pin 100 holds the pin 100 in its socket in head 101. The front edge of the plate 99 is provided with a downwardly extending arc-uate flange 102 which engages a similar recess in the front of the head 101, said flange and recess being concentric with the pivot of the plate. Said plate is also provided with a downwardly extending projection 103 which travels in an arcuate groove in the top surface of said head, and

at the inner end of said groove is provided a socket or seat 104 for a spring 105 which tends to force the plate to swing clockwise in relation to the head, the movement of said plate being however limited by a stop plate 106 carried by the head. 107 is a set screw carried by the plate 99 for adjusting the projection of the tool relative to said plate.

The head 101 is integral with the upper end of a lever 108 whose lower end is provided with a collar 109 keyed on the projecting end of a shaft 110 journaled in the side plates A and B. Inside the sideplate B the shaft 110 is provided with a bifurcated toe-piece 111 which extends on either side of the spring rod 112 to bear on the top of the cap 113 sliding on said spring rod and bearing on the upper end of a strong helical spring 114 coiled about said rod be tween said cap and a cap 115 fixed on the lower end of said rod. The said rod extends up through a nut block 116 carried by the plate B, said rod being threaded to screw in said block for adjustment of the comp-ression of the spring 114, a lock sleeve 117 being screwed on said rod above said nut block to lock said rod in any adjusted position. 118 is a hand wheel on the upper end of said spring rod. It is evident that the effect of the expansion of the spring 114 is to throw the cutting tool into its cutting posit-ion, as shown in Fig. 14 for the cutting operation, and the spring 114 is accordingly compressed to store power for the next cutting operation, by means of the cam 119 mounted on the driven shaft 80 and engaging an angular projection 120 on the cutter lever 108. The cam is provided with a spiral perimetral cam surface 121 interrupted by a radial shoulder 122, so that the cutter will be gradually retracted and power g adually stored in the spring, until the cam rotates into the position in which the projection travels off the high point of the cam when the cutter will be thrown forward, into the position shown in Fig. 15, by the sudden expansion of the spring. A resilient bumper 1 123 carried by the plate A will halt the forward throw of the cutter, after the spring has been severed, without a jar on the machine. The continued rotation of the cam will gradually retract the cutter and com press the spring to store up power for the next cutting operation.

The shaft 80, which, as has been seen, controls the operation of the cutter, the spreader and the former, is shown powerdriven in the following manner.

Said shaft is prolonged through its hearing in the side plate B as is also the sprocket shaft 17 and mounted on the protruding portions of said shafts, as by sleeve bearings, is the saddle 124 whose upper portion is provided with an arcuate slot 125 concentric with the shaft 80. A gear 126 is keyed on the end of the shaft 80 and an idler pinion 127 is rotatably mounted on a stud shaft 128 which is clamped in the slot 125 in any adjusted position, said pinion however being always in mesh with the gear 126. 129 is a gear keyed on the end of the shaft 17 and in mesh with the pinion 127 so that power is thus applied to the shaft 80. It is evident that the speed of the shaft 80 may be regulated by using a larger or smaller gear on the end of the shaft 17, the pinion 12; being shifted along the slot 125 to mesh with the two gears.

The operation of my machine is as follows The wire or rod, from which the springs are to be made, is introduced through the block 45 between the chains which feed the material forward through the guide blocks to the mandrel, about which it is coiled by the former, the spreader, as it moves out, spreading the coils to the desired degree. When the proper length of spring has been formed, the cutter is thrown forward by means of the stored power, severing the spring, and the cutter is then again retracted by its cam, recompressing the spring to store power for the next cutting operation.

The severed end of wire, as it is fed forward immediately after the cut, shoulders the cutting tool 96 out of the way, swinging the plate 99 on its axis and compressing the spring 105. As the cutter is drawn back by the cam 119, the spring 105 swings the plate 99 and the cutter 96 back into its normal position relative to the head 101.

It is evident that the speed of the shaft 80 determines the length of the spring which is made, since the cutting operation occurs once in every revolution of the cam 119. Therefore by selecting the gear 129 of the proper size for the end of shaft 17 and thus, adjust ing the speed of the shaft 80, I am able to produce springs of any desired length.

is of course controlled by the contour of the face of the cam 79, so that either loosely or ti htly coiled springs may be produced.

' Vhei'e tapered springs are to be formed 1 retract the screw shaft 7 0 so that it is out of 'contaet of tlie blocl 73 and causethe former to progressively advance toward or move away from the mandrel by means of the roller 7 8 on the'perimeter of the cam 79. Thus the cam 79 is used to determine both the taper and the spreader the spring.

It evident, therefore, that by providing the proper gear 129 andthe proper cam 79 the machine may be quickly set to produce a spring of any desired character. Thus by properly marking the proper gear and cam and giving thesame marking to the order, I can set the machine up for a repeat order in a very few minutes,

It is also evident that by properly adjusting the chain supporting-plates 25 and 27, any gauge 61' eharact'er of material may be fed "to the mandrel. The chain feed maintains ainore extended grip on the material than roll feed and therefore does not require to grip the material With as much force; I thus avoidaiiy danger of flattening or-distorting the cross section of the material, as frequently happens Where a'roll feed is used. There is also no danger of the material slipping in the feed or being fed irregularly. I can also successfully feed material of square or angular cross section Without fear of distortion.

The use of stored power for the cutting operationi's a great advantage, owing to the fact that the machine is not jarred when the cutting operation occurs, as is the case where the cutter isoperated by a cam driven directly from the machine.

Although,- for the sake of clea rnesal'have minutely described the embodiment of the principles of my invention 'illustrated in the drawings, I do not Wish to limit myself thereby, but claim broadly 1. In a machine for the manufacture of springs, the combination *ofmeans for feedingthe material, means for coiling the material, means whereby the operation of the machine stores power, means for'releasing the power stored at predetermined intervals, means for regulating the amount of power stored, and means for severing the formed springs from the material engaged by the feeding means actuated by the release of and stared pewer.

2. In a machine for the manufacture of springs, the combination of a n'iandrel, means for continuously feeding the material to said mandrel, a former adapted to coil the material about said mandrel, meansfor adjusting the position of said former relative to said mandrel to determine the diameter of the springs to be formed, and a cutter arranged to strike against the ire on the mandrel for severing the completed springs at the mandrel.

3. In a machine for the manufacture'of springs, the combination of a mandrel, means for continuously feeding the material to said mandrel, a former adapted to coil said material about said mandrel, a cutter arranged to strike against the Wire on the mandrel for severing the completed springs at the mandrel, and means for varying the relation of said former to said mandrel to vary the diameter of the springs formed.

4. In a machine for the manufacture of springs, the combination of a mandrel, means for continuously feeding the in aterial to said mandrel, a former adapted to coil said'material about said mandrel, a cutter arranged to strike against the Wire on the mandrel for severing the completed springs at the mandrel, and cam operated means for moving said former relative to said mandrel for varying the diameter of the springs formed.

5. In a machine for the manufacture of springs, the combination of a mandrel, means for continuously feeding the material about said mandrel, a former adapted to coil said material about said mandrel, means for severingthe completedsprings, a mounting for said former and pivotally mounted so as to swing in a plane at right angles to the axis of said mandrel, and cam meansfor rocking said'mounting to vary the diameter of the springs formed.

6. In a'm'achine for the manufacture of springs, the CQmblIlttlOll of a mandrel, means for continuously feeding the material to said mandrel, a former adapted to coil said material about said mandrel, a holder for said former and pivotally mounted to swing in a plane at right angles to the axis of the mandrel, means for severing the completed springs, a rotary shaft, and cam 'means carried by said'shaft and adapted to move said holder whereby the diameter of the spring formed maybe varied. Y

7. a machine for the manufacture of springs, the combination of a mandrel, means for continuously feeding the material to said mandrel, nieansfor severing the com- 'pl'eted. springs, a spreader adapted to spread means for continuously feeding the material to said mandrel, a former adapted to coil said material about said mandrel, means for severing the completed springs, a spreader adapted to spread the coils as they are formed on said mandrel, a sliding mounting for said spreader, a rotary shaft, and cam means mounted on said shaft for moving sad mounting to operate said spreader.

9. In a machine for the manufacture of springs, the combination of a mandrel, means for continuously feeding the material to said mandrel, a former adapted to coil said material about said mandrel, said former being movable relative to said mandrel to vary the diameter of the coils, a spreader movable in parallelism with said mandrel to spread the coils as they are formec, a rotary shaft, a removably mounted unit cam means for actuating said formed and said spreader, and means for severing the formed springs.

10. In a machine for the manufacture of springs, the combination of a mandrel, means for continuously feeding the material to said mandrel, a former adapted to coil said material about said mandrel, said former being movable away from and to ward said mandrel to vary the diameter of the coils, a spreader adapted to be moved in parallelism with said mandrel to spread the coils as they are formed, and a removably mounted unit cam means for operating said former and said spreader.

11. In a machine for the manufacture of springs, the combination of a mandrel, means for continuously feeding the material to the mandrel a former adapted to coil the material about the mandrel, said former be ing movable toward and away from said mandrel to vary the diameter of the coils being formed, a spreader adapted to be moved parallel with said mandrel to spread the coils as they are formed, a rotary shaft, and a removably mounted unit cam means mounted on said shaft to operate both said former and said spreader.

12. In combination with a machine for manufacturing springs provided with a mandrel, means for coiling the material about the mandrel, means for severing the completed springs, and means for feeding the material consisting of a pair of continuous chains moving in a vertical plane provided with gripping surfaces between which the material is fed to the mandrel.

18. In combination with a machine for manufacturing springs and provided with means for forming and severing the springs, means for feeding the material consisting of a pair of driven chains provided with parallel flights and having interlacing material gripping means for engaging the material to be fed.

14:. In combination with a machine for .ianufacturing springs and provided with means for forming and severing the springs, means for feeding the material consisting of a pair of driven chains moving in vertical planes hating parallel. flights adapted to grip the material to be fed between them.

15. In combination with a machine for manufacturing springs and provided with means for forming and severing the springs, means for feeding the material consisting of a pair of driven chains provided with llel flights and interlacing material C pping means and means for varying the distance between said flights to adjust the feed to materials of various cross-sections.

16. In combination with a machine for manufacturing springs and provided with means for forming and severing the springs, means for feeding the material consisting of a pair of driven chains composed of pivotally connected members provided with interlacing material-gripping projections, said chains having parallel flights adapted to grip the material between them.

17. In combination with a machine for manufacturing springs and provided with means for forming and severing the springs, means for feeding the material consisting of a. pair of driven chains composed of pivotally connected members provided with material-gripping projections, said chains having parallel flights adapted to grip the material between them, and means for varying the distance between said flights to adjust the feed to materials of various cross-sections.

18. In combination with a machine for manufacturing springs and provided with means for forming and severing the springs, means for feeding the material consisting of a pair of chain supporting plates disposed in the same plane, and a pair of driven chains running on the perimeters of said plates and adapted to grip the material between them.

19. In combination with a machine for manufacturing springs and provided with means for forming and severing the springs, means for feeding the material consisting of a pair of chain-supporting plates disposed in the same plane, a pair of driven chains running on the perimeters of said plates and adapted to grip the material be tween them, and means for varying the distance between said plates whereby the feed may be accommodated to materials of various cross-sections.

20. In combination with a machine for manufacturing springs and provided with means for forming and severing the springs, means for feeding the material consisting of a pair of chain-supporting plates disposed in the same plane, said plates being provided with continuous sunken perimetral tracks, a pair of driven continuous chains mounted on the perimeters of said plates, and anti- 7 friction members mounted'in said tracks and supporting said chains.

21. In combination with a machine for manufacturing springs and provided with means for forming and severing the springs, means for feeding the'material consisting of a pair of chain-supporting plates disposed in the same plane, said plates being provided with continuous sunken perimetral tracks, a pair of driven continuous chains mounted on the perimeters of said plates, antifriction members mounted in said tracks and supporting said'chains, and means for varying the distance between said plates whereby the feed may be accommodated to materials of various cross-sections.

Signed at Pittsburgh Pa., this 4th day of August, 1921.

WILLIAM H. BLEUE-L. 

